Category: Flying

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Who is Ready to Travel Again?

I miss traveling, the fun of going new places, seeing new sights, and eating at new restaurants. I get to travel frequently for work, which has it upsides and downsides at times. I am gone a lot, but many times I do get to visit places i like to see and places I have never been before. As well as the perks you can get when your a frequent traveler with some airlines and hotels.

white airplane
Photo by Soumya Ranjan on Pexels.com

I not sure I want to get on a plane right now due to the current pandemic situations, but I sure do miss the excitement of visiting places. I miss staying at new hotels with different amenities to enjoy, as well as scouting out new places to eat.

I prefer to fly Delta as I have Diamond status with them at this current time and they have always treated me well so far. I do fly AA and United when I have to, as Delta does not always go where I need to travel. I used to be a United person but really began to have issues with them several years back and switched up to Delta, and have not had any major issues since in my travels (besides weather related issues). As for AA, they are not that great out of Knoxville Airport (TYS), not sure if it was from the merger with US Airways a few years back or what, but they seem to have the most delays and cancellations from TYS (In my opinion). I always see them on the status boards with Delayed or Canceled, I am sure some of it is due to TYS being a hub for most airlines, but AA seems to have issues very frequently there.

I also prefer to stay at Hilton Hotels, Marriott Hotels and when possible Hyatt Hotels. I have been loyal to Hilton for several years now, but more and more I am staying with Marriott. I made Lifetime Silver with Marriott and am super close to Lifetime Gold (60 Nights needed). HiltonMarriottHyatt

With Hilton I have several more years (5 years to go) to make Lifetime Diamond as they did not count a couple of years I was Diamond with them before they began the program and getting to 1000 nights will take a few more years. I am over halfway there, but when they do not have decent places to stay or they are too expensive to stay at in some areas, I will pick another brand. With Marriott they have a tier system so you can get to a specific status level sooner. I made their Silver Status late last year, and had been slowly working my way up to Gold Status early this year. However, with not traveling as much lately it has slowed my progress a lot.

For car rental companies I am switching it up to who ever gives me the best options. Have been using Hertz lately as I could do grab and go option similar to National.

HertzNationalAvis

However, with National it seems unless you have their higher tier status you do not get the nicer cars to drive as often lately. That was not the case when I first started using National, but had begin to change over time. It is not a big issue most of the time, but I do prefer to get something that is comfortable to drive and not a piece of crap. I do like how Hertz has gone to using Clear (when it really works), I noticed it goes a little quicker at the gates to check out when it works.

So all in all with the pandemic I might be changing up some of my travel preferences. I have got the Amex Platinum and Amex Gold cards, and will be looking to downgrade the Amex Delta Reserve card to the free Amex Delta Blue card. As I might be changing up my flying strategy with one airline due to lack of travel and ability to keep status. I am also looking to get the Chase Hyatt card to help with keep my Discoverist Status with them, as I might not get to stay at they properties much next year. I already have the Amex Hilton Aspire card and Chase Marriott Bonvoy card to help with earning points during my stays at their properties.

Planning to leverage the Amex Platinum card for booking flights and my Amex Gold card for dinning out and groceries, and my specific hotel branded cards for hotel stays. The Amex Platinum gets me Delta Lounge access when flying with Delta, as well Centurion and Priority Pass lounges where available when flying other carriers. With the Amex points I can transfer to partners to book flights with points and am not tied to one specific airline. I will miss the status from Delta, but not sure I will be getting much past Gold status after next year unless things pick up and we start traveling a lot more. We will see how that goes for 2021, and may switch back to some previous strategies in 2022 if the travel gets back to normal.

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The Credit Card Game

Been reading up on several sites and watching some YouTube videos on different schemes with Credit Cards to earn Miles, Points or even Cash back.

Looking at my Credit Cards

Many credit cards offer some type of signup offer, either for Miles, Points of cash back depending on a specific spend in the first few months.

Delta Reserve American Express Card

The New Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card

Earn 80,000 bonus miles and 20,000 MQMs after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months. Earn an additional 20,000 bonus miles upon your first card renewal date. (offer Expires 4/1/2020)

This card has a $550 annual fee, which is justifiable to me if you use the travel benefits.

Travel Benefits:
  • MQD Waiver (Spend 25k to get Delta Platinum if you have MQM/MQS)
  • Complimentary Delta Sky Club® Access (Costs $545 or 54,500 Sky Miles)
  • NEW Complimentary Centurion Lounge® Access (Must be Flying on
  • Delta and the Reserve Card or have the Amex Platinum Card)
  • Upgrade Priority for Medallion Members (No Value as TYS has way too many Diamonds)
  • Companion Pass (Value up to $400+)

I personally have the Delta Reserve card, picked it up in 2015 when I started traveling regularly for work. I use Delta from my regional airport because they were the better carrier flying from their. I usually fly through ATL and use the Sky Club during my layovers usually, but they are generally packed and not a great place to visit during the day mot times.

We have limited flights to larger hubs out of the Knoxville Airport:

Delta AA United Allegiant Frontier
ATL CLT ORD DIA DIA
DTW DFW IAH SFB MCO
MSP ORD DIA PIE
LGA DCA IAD FLL
PHL EWR PBI
MIA LAS
EWR

I used the American Express Centurion lounge in CLT just after it opened, and it was a lavish place with excellent food options. CLT is not a major hub for Delta so they do not have a Sky Club lounge so the Centurion Lounge is nice to have.

Centurion Lounges (as of 3/5/2020)

Current Locations: Comming Soon:
CLT DEN
DFW JFK
HKG LAX
LAS LHR
LGA
MIA
PHL
PHX
SEA
SFO

So the addition of the Centurion Lounge access to my Delta Reserve Card got me to looking at the American Express Platinum card. They both have the $550 annual fee, and have similar features.

American Express Platinum Card

https://i0.wp.com/card.americanexpress.com/assets/desktop/images/card-art-platinum.png?w=525&ssl=1

Earn 60,000 75,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months

Travel Benefits:
Lounge Access: (Worth $550 to me as Sky Club is $545 and the others are worth $5+ for sure)
  • Centurion Lounges
  • American Express International Lounges
  • Delta Sky Club lounges (when flying Delta)
  • Priority Pass Select membership (not including restaurants)
  • Escape Lounges
  • Airspace Lounge (SFO)

Up to $200 in Uber credits each year (Might use some of this so $100 value)
Up to $200 airline fee credit (Might be worth $200 value)
Up to $100 in Saks Fifth Avenue credit each year (Not sure I would ever use it)
Marriott Gold and Hilton Gold status (No Value to me currently)

Comparing Amex Platinum vs Delta Reserve (the Points Guy)

The Platinum Card from American Express Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card
Welcome bonus 60,000 points after you spend $5,000 in purchases in your first three months. Terms apply. 80,000 miles and 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $5,000 in purchases in your first three months

An additional 20,000 bonus miles after your first card membership anniversary. Terms apply.
Earning rates 5x on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel

5x on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com

1x on everything else

 3x on eligible purchases with Delta

1x on everything else
TPG’s valuation of points/miles 2 cents each 1.2 cents each
Annual fee $550 $550
Foreign transaction fees None None
Lounge access Access to many lounges through the American Express Global Lounge Collection including:

  • Centurion Lounges
  • American Express International Lounges
  • Delta Sky Club lounges (when flying Delta)
  • Priority Pass Select membership (not including restaurants)
  • Escape Lounges
  • Airspace Lounge (SFO)
 Access to Delta Sky Club lounges (when flying Delta)

Two, one-time guest passes for the Delta Sky Club (when flying Delta)

Access to Centurion Lounges (when flying Delta)
Other standout benefits Up to $200 in Uber credits each year

Up to $200 airline fee credit

Up to $100 in Saks Fifth Avenue credit each year

Marriott Gold and Hilton Gold status

Access to Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts

Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit every 4-4.5 years

 Domestic First Class, Delta Comfort+ or Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your card

Status Boost, which allows you to earn MQMs through spending on your card

First checked bag free, priority boarding, inflight savings and access to complimentary upgrades on Delta

Medallion qualification dollar waiver

So looking over the two cards, with the Delta Reserve I am locked into flying with Delta to get the most benefit from the card, but If I switched to the Amex Platinum I could use any airline to get benefits and can transfer my points to any airline I want to use. Amex Platinum could give more lounge access privileges depending on who I fly with and where I am traveling to. As I only get access to lounges at layovers and day of departure locations with either card. I do have Priority Pass Lounge access (10 passes a year) from my Hilton Surpass card.

I guess the biggest drawback from the Amex Platinum is that it will make it harder to gain status on any one airline, being I have been Delta Diamond the past 2 years, and Platinum for about 2 years before that. I think I made United Silver once and that was with Marriott Platinum status before the merger.

I also would not use the Amex Platinum to book hotels as I already have the Hilton Surpass card and Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card (Referral Link). They both get me better points options when booking at the hotels directly. Plus the Marriott gives me 15 night credit towards my status. I am currently lifetime Silver with Marriott and just need about 100 nights to make lifetime Gold. About 2 more years and 300 nights to make Lifetime Platinum as well, Hilton I have about 5 years as they did not credit me some previous years as Diamond status for some reason. I have about 5 years and 500 nights accumulated so in another 5 years and 500 nights I will make Lifetime Diamond with Hilton.

I am torn on switching to the Amex Platinum and downgrading my Delta Reserve to another Delta card, or looking at another card to complement my Delta Reserve. Will do some more research and do a follow up post.